He sat on the edge of the table and pressed his fingers to his eyes. "We need their timing," he said. "We never get timing."
"We got two words," Ruta said. "Confirm concentration."
Janik lifted his hand and drew an invisible circle in the air. "And when we confirm it, we will be told to wait for a better line. We are always told to wait."
He stood. "I'll take the copy to the embassy pouch."
He pulled on his coat and went down the stairs.
In the stairwell he passed a man carrying a sack of flour.
They nodded at each other as if to prove nothing would change tonight.
At a village near the rail line, an old stationmaster checked his watch and then checked the tracks.
A boy asked if the late train would come.
The stationmaster said it would.
He had learned to be kind with lies.
A whistle sounded far off.
The boy smiled.
The stationmaster did not.
The train came in with only two lamps.
The cars were closed.
The doors did not open.
The engine made noise.
